New Mechanism For Supernova

[Wanderlust]

This new is a bit old (a week) but i noticed there is no thread for it yet.

New research shows that some old stars known as white dwarfs might be held up by their rapid spins, and when they slow down, they explode as Type Ia supernovae. Thousands of these “time bombs” could be scattered throughout our Galaxy. In this artist’s conception, a supernova explosion is about to obliterate an orbiting Saturn-like planet. Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA).

http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=19764

Are dozens of Type Ia supernovae waiting to happen within a few thousand light years of the Earth? New research from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics suggests the answer is yes. Type Ia events are thought to occur when a white dwarf accretes material from a companion star. The idea is that the white dwarf — a stellar remnant that is no longer capable of fusion — eventually exceeds the so-called Chandrasekhar mass, roughly 1.4 times the mass of the Sun. When a star pushes past the limit, gravity compacts the dwarf to the point of runaway nuclear fusion, and a spectacular stellar event appears in the heavens.

White Drawfs that are past the Chadrasekhar mass could potentially hold themselves up if their spins are rapid enough to counteract the force of gravity. If they were to slow down enough to where gravity overcame the spin, they could collapse into a runaway fusion event and explode as a supernova.

This brings up the idea that we could see an unexpected supernova near us at any time. I myself am dying to see a supernova, especially if it will be as bright as the full moon.